HIV/AIDS, the U.S.-China Partnership for Public Health at Work, and Traditional Chinese Medicine in the U.S. Fact Sheet

Alleviating the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

On December 11, 2007, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt and Chinese Minister of Health Chen Zhu, M.D., renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries to cooperate in the field of HIV/AIDS, as part of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Recognizing the impact of HIV in China, HHS and the Ministry of Health are working together to strengthen Chinese disease-surveillance and laboratory capacity, as well as support confidential, voluntary counseling and testing (VCT); behavior change; and care and treatment activities for Chinese communities.

In 2003, President Bush launched the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), committing $15 billion over five years to combat global HIV/AIDS – the largest international health initiative in history to fight a single disease.  In 2007, the President requested that the U.S. Congress double the original funding commitment for this successful program to $30 billion over five years.

Since the 2006 fiscal year, the United States has allocated $21 million to support HIV/AIDS treatment, care, and prevention in the People’s Republic of China.  HHS plays a key role in this partnership to combat HIV/AIDS.

Examples of this funding in action in 2008 include:

• $1,000,000 for HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support development of a comprehensive prevention program, including improvement of the provincial AIDS surveillance network with case-finding capacity, strengthening of linkages within the existing infrastructure to provide care, support and treatment for AIDS patients in China, with particular emphasis in rural settings.
• $1,000,000 for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the minimum package of services for the most-at-risk population, the comprehensive prevention model for positives, technical and organizational capacity building of local community-based and non-governmental organizations and advocacy and policy activities.

Since 2002, HHS/CDC has maintained a Global AIDS Program (GAP) China office to assist the Government of China by strengthening strategic information efforts, including surveillance, and building laboratory capacity. HHS/CDC also supports voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), behavior change, and care and treatment activities and programs.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in the United States

The United States has a growing interest and use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). HHS has fostered that interest with research and a cooperative agreement with China. During his May 2008 visit to China, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt will visit a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, pharmacy and school.

Acupuncture has been practiced in the United States for about 200 years. Dr. Franklin Bache published a report in the North American Medical and Surgical Journal, published from 1826-1831, about his use of acupuncture to treat lower back pain. Until the 1970s, when U.S.-Chinese diplomatic ties were resumed, the practice of acupuncture was limited.

An estimated 8.2 million U.S. adults said they had ever used acupuncture and an estimated 2.1 million had used acupuncture in the previous year, according to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. More than 50 schools and colleges of acupuncture and Oriental medicine currently operate in the United States, many of which offer master’s-level programs. HHS’ Food and Drug Administration classified acupuncture needles as investigational devices in 1976; and reclassified them as medical devices in 1996.

The use of herbs to aid healing is also common in the United States. 18.9 percent of more than 38 million U.S. adults surveyed had used natural products such as herbs, other botanicals and enzymes, in the previous year.

At HHS, TCM research is conducted through the National Institutes of Health. NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine committed $19.8 million to support traditional Chinese medicine-related research and training in Fiscal Year 2007. Of the grants, 9 had collaborators in China:

• 39 focus on acupuncture, electro-acupuncture and acupressure
• 19 focus on Chinese herbal medicine
• 20 focus on Tai Chi, Qi Gong
• 4 focus research on other traditional Chinese medicine

TCM is also important in cancer research and treatment. NIH’s National Cancer Institute dedicated $3.4 million in funds to traditional Chinese medicine-related research. In 2006, the National Cancer Institute organized a conference, “Traditional Chinese Medicine and Cancer Research:  Fostering Collaborations; Advancing the Science.” Approximately 150 TCM cancer researchers, 40 from China, were invited and presented their research work at the conference.

The International Center of TCM for Cancer brings together U.S. and Chinese hospitals for four projects based on traditional Chinese medicine. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the International Center supports collaborative medical trials between MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas and Fudan University Cancer Hospital, Shanghai China.

In 2006, the U.S. and China agreed to an international collaboration on Complementary and Traditional Medicine. On April 19, 2006, Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Director of NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, signed a Letter of Intent with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine agreeing to foster and stimulate additional scientific exchange and collaboration between individual scientists and research institutions in both countries to advance the scientific discipline of Complementary and Alternative Medicine/Traditional Medicine research. For more information, visit http://nccam.nih.gov/.